Gregg: QPW made its return to Baldwin Park on Saturday. And when it was announced that the Shimmertaker herself, Nicole Matthews, was going to be there, I knew so did I. Add to that Delilah Doom vs. Cheerleader Melissa and I was definitely there. Julio, being Delilah Doom’s biggest fan, came along, too.
Julio: Top of the morning to you homes.
Welcome to the Quintessential Rice and Beans Review.
Ray Rosas vs. Karl Fredericks
Julio: Ray Rosas seems to be able to put on a good match anywhere and against anyone. Karl Fredericks is no slouch, even if I did call him a “Big F’N Bore” during the opening minutes. The self-proclaimed Big Fucking Deal traded some good strikes with Ray throughout their match. Rosas with the clever pin counter when Karl went for a rope break was one of my favorite spots of the night and honestly one of the most clever, yet simple, things I’ve seen in a while. Karl had a great spinebuster-standing moonsault combo too, that was one of the standout moments of the night.
Gregg: Karl Fredericks is a guy that I want to see more of in SoCal. I’ve seen his work up close at Bumps and Brewses and Brewmania and he’s a solid worker with a good look (and does a hell of a Spider-man impression). Hopefully we see more of him in 2018. Ray Rosas was Ray Rosas. I mean, c’mon… you don’t really have to say much more than that.
Laura James vs. Liiza Hall
Julio: Liiza reminded me of actress Jena Malone and after being introduced as hailing from “2,000 tassles” I already knew she was someone I wanted to pay attention to. However, as impressive as her ring presence is she did leave a little to be desired. Maybe she had an off night, but she seemed a little unpolished. Laura hit one of the spots of the night when she had Liiza straddled on the second turnbuckle and pulled her down off the ropes with a nasty looking code breaker. But it only got a 2 (sweet) count. I want to see more of Liiza in SoCal, she has a fun personality and was a good clean cut baby face.
Gregg: I admit, I didn’t know who Liiza was at first. But after learning that she’s from ECCW, I was more confident in the match. All night, the crowd popped for the big moves, but most of the time they just sat there quietly. It seemed like a lot of Laura’s comedy bits weren’t getting the reaction they should have. No fault of hers. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen Laura in a singles match but I love how she’s mixed in this William Regal-esque hybrid of British comedy and wrestling. Let’s see more of Liiza in SoCal, too.
Nicole Matthews vs. Heather Monroe
Julio: The music had been an issue for both previous matches. So when Nicole’s music started up at a lower volume than she desired, she came out to berate the sound tech and make sure her music was loud enough. Once her music was loud enough she came out again. And Gregg may have well been a schoolgirl at her first *NSYNC concert. Lots of comedy in this match as Nicole let her personality shine. Spot of the match had to be a tilt a whirl back breaker attempt by Nicole countered into a Russian Leg Sweep.
Gregg: Yup. Totes. Nicole Matthews was the MAIN reason I came to this show. If you’ve read my review of the “Worst Best Friends” angle, it’s pretty obvious I’m a HUGE fan. Heather was a good dance partner for her in this match. The comedy worked well, the wrestling worked well. Heather’s really come into her own and 2018 is going to be a breakout year for her. Unfortunately, the low ceiling and light-tub filled fabric hampered some of her high-flying offense. Nicole picks up the victory with the Vancouver Maneuver (which is an AWESOME name).
Jeff Cobb vs. Luster the Legend
Julio: These two monsters had what one might call a slobberknocker. Both guys hit hard and hit often. There was such force behind their strikes and moves that when the action spilled to the outside a woman in the second row fell out of her chair, spilling her hot Cheetos, just from the sheer force of their bodies hitting the floor. I forget what the move was but both Luster and Cobb hit the mat so hard at one point I swear I saw four or five of the wooden boards almost bounce through the ring mat.
Gregg: Homegirl falling was awesome. Everything he said. I would have liked to see this match with a hotter crowd that reacted for everything because these two beat the piss out of each other. Favorite moment of the match was Cobb getting bodyslammed and his feet hitting the chandelier with a loud “Ting.” This match would have been GREAT at AWS or (personal biases aside) Brewmania.
B-Boy (out) & Sage Sin vs. Artemis Spencer & Buggy Nova
Julio: Royce Isaacs replaced the sick BBoy. Earlier this week me and THE Joshua Shibata were talking about how there needs to be more hipster gimmicks in wrestling.
Gregg: You know THE Joshua Shibata?
Julio: Gotta let the cool kids know I’m “with it”, as they say. Low and behold, here is Artemis Spencer, who I had not heard of before. He pulls it off pretty well too. This match was a little strange, but why wouldn’t it be with a group of characters like these. First, there some teased HLA to start the match. And to finish it, well Chuckie, Buggy’s faithful companion, was first stolen by Isaacs. Only to come to life, yes you read that right, and come back to save the day.
Gregg: I didn’t know much about Royce Isaacs or Artemis Spencer, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in SoCal, too. I just hope Buggy and Sage’s friendship survived this match. Sage kept reminding Buggy that they “weren’t friends today” but REAL friendship NEVER takes a day off.
Cheerleader Melissa (Out) vs. Delilah Doom
Julio: So this was the match I came to QPW to see and to say I was disappointed when it was announced Melissa had to cancel her appearance is an understatement. I hope that the family emergency she had to attend to had a positive outcome. However, her replacement, Nicole Matthews, making her 2nd appearance of the night was a welcome surprise. Again Nicole got to show off her comedy and heel skills here. She made a little girl cry!
Gregg: My personal favorite moment of the night. She then proceeded to blame the little girl for why she was beating up Delilah.
Julio: Delilah offered to help Nicole out with some “Aerobic time” to help her shed those holiday pounds. Nicole welcomes the help, but only for a short period of time before attacking Delilah and calling an end to “Cardio bullshit.” Delilah continues to shine as a white meat baby face and is definitely one of the most popular acts in SoCal. With her recent move to SoCal, Delilah definitely has the skills and charisma to become one of SoCal’s most popular acts in a long time. Seeing Nicole Matthews in person for the first time it’s obvious why she has been one of the most respected wrestlers in women’s wrestling today.
Adam Thornstowe (c) vs. Chuck Taylor
Julio: A solid main event that showcased both wrestlers’ skills well. Chuckie T sure has come into his own over the years, still comedic even working a serious match. At one point when the action made its way to the merch table he started hitting Adam with Chuck Taylor merch and then signed his name on Adam’s back, which confirmed that Chuck is a dick in real life. Adam called upon his comedy skills, mimicking John Cena at a couple points and even going for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Word Life.
Gregg: Great match. Lots of fun and lots of action. Again, I feel like a hotter crowd would have made this match more memorable. No fault of the competitors.
Overall, it was a fun show with a pretty good size crowd considering that PWG ran the night before and there were at least two other shows running that night. It was nice to be in the Bar Wrestling venue with a different setup than I was used to.
Hopefully we get a few more QPro shows this year. Alan, if you’re reading this and need a photographer for the next show, let me know!
Julio: But he won’t accept anything less than two slices of pizza of his payment.
QPW was definitely a fun night of wrestling with a good mix of all that wrestling has to offer, sans high flying (damn you white fabric hanging from the sky). If I’m being honest though, what did it do to set itself apart from the other promotions in SoCal? Nicole Matthew’s being a part of the show was a plus, but is going to be a QPW exclusive booking? The price was a little lower than other events without the quality of action being diminished so that’s another plus. I’m curious to see what they book for their next show but I’ll still be looking for what sets them apart. But until next time this is Rice and Beans signing off.
Gregg: And don’t forget to book Joshua Shibata and his Ari Gold, Andrew.
Julio: More like his Johnny Drama.
Hall was announced as Weight 2,000 Tassels, not From.